


Suddenly big brother

by Yuulina_vre



Series: Soldier parents [6]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Crying, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kid Fic, Kid Steve, Kid Steve Rogers, Kid reader, Misunderstandings, Multi, Nightmares, Parent Bucky, Parent Bucky Barnes, Sad, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-21
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-09 11:40:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19887058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yuulina_vre/pseuds/Yuulina_vre
Summary: Little Steve  and little Bucky meet Y/N.





	1. Little Sister - Story one

**Author's Note:**

> You can still send me prompts :D
> 
> Remember my Twitter and Discord for updates.
> 
> Twitter: @Yuulina_vre  
> Discord: https://discord.gg/MYgmfSk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little Steve meets Y/N for the first time.

“Uncle Sam. Are we home?” Steve whines and looks up at the man. He currently sits on his lap and plays with a stuffed toy that they keep on the jets for the case that Steve or Bucky drop before they reach the compound. The man sighs and shakes his head. “Five more minutes.”

“But it’s so long.” Steve whines again and leans back against Sam. “I know.” Sam rubs his face and looks to Nat. But she shrugs smiles at him and makes a quick escape to Clint who flies the quintet. “Uncle Sam?”

“Yes, Steve?” Sam rolls his eyes annoyed but smiles down at the boy nonetheless. Wanda giggles and watches the man. “Are mommy and daddy coming and get me?”

“Of course, they do. They always do, right?” Steve smiles and nods energetically. He swings his bare legs and lets the little bunny walk over his legs. Wanda had stripped him out of the big suit and into a shirt from his duffle bag. Steve even had a diaper in it, so she helped him with that. Sam swears he slaps Steve on the head the next time he doesn’t pack kids’ clothes as well. He distracts Steve for the next five minutes until the jet finally lands. Then he grabs his and Steve’s bag and slings them over his shoulder. “Come on, buddy. Let the bunny sit here, and we go to Bucky and Y/N.”

“Okay.” Steve’s voice is happy which is strange when Sam thinks about the stress he had while running from HYDRA goons and dodging the bullets that almost hit him. He takes the boy’s hand and leads him inside, all the way to the common room. They greet Bruce and Tony and wave at Vision before they reach the common room. Steve lets go of Sam’s hand and runs into the room but stops short as he sees Bucky. “Daddy?” Sam looks up and sees Bucky as well. He stands there, smiling at the boy (it falls a bit after he sees that Steve dropped but recovers quickly). He holds Y/N in his arms, the little girl sucks on her pacifier and eyes the boy with curious eyes. “Hey, Stevie. How was your flight with uncle Sam?”

“Daddy! Uncle Clint let me fly!” Steve beams but eyes the girl on Bucky’s arms with a weary look. “Really? How was it?” Bucky smiles and crouches down, balancing Y/N on his hip. She squeals around her pacifier and hides her head in Bucky’s shoulder before she points at Steve. “Yeah, that’s Stevie.”

“Daddy?” Steve looks at Bucky with a sad look and Bucky frowns instantly. “Hey, what is it?” He reaches out and runs his hand over Steve’s cheek. “Who is that? Where is mommy?” Bucky takes a sharp intake of air and shares a cautious look with Sam. “Would you?” Bucky holds the girl out for Sam to take, which he does, before he picks Steve up himself and kisses his cheek. “There’s something I have to tell you, Stevie. You actually know it already, but you’re small for the first time since, so you probably don’t remember.” Bucky sighs and carries Steve over to the bar in the common room before he sits down on a stool, balancing Steve on his lap, so that he can see Bucky’s face all the time. “Mommy is not here at the moment. Well, she is but not really.” Steve frowns at Bucky and tears gather in his eyes. “Mommy gone?”

“No! No, no. God. Stevie, I’m sorry. No. Mommy is not gone. I’m just bad at explaining. You saw that little girl?” Steve sniffs but still nods. “That is mommy. That is Y/N. She was really… sick. And when you were big you gave her some blood to help her. But you know the serum that makes us big and small right? Mommy has it, too, now and she dropped. Like we do. But she didn’t get big since she did.” Bucky draws his bottom lip between his teeth and stares at the small boy that has still tears in his eyes and looks at him in confusion. Then the tears expand and Steve starts sobbing again. “Hey, Stevie. It’s okay. Shh. Everything is okay.”

“Noo.” Steve whines and sobs. He shakes his head and hides in Bucky’s chest all while he grabs the fabric of his shirt. “Mommy is gone.” His words are almost not audible but Bucky understands them. He rubs Steve’s back and rocks a bit forth and back. “No, Stevie. Mommy is just small. She’s your little sister for a while.” Bucky slumps a bit. It’s that situation that he wishes it were switched. That he is small and Steve would need to explain. He’s always better at explaining things to kids. Steve’s crying increases a bit more and his breath gets a bit ragged. “Steve. Hey. It’s okay. We’re fine, okay? Breath.” He rubs Steve’s back and rocks him a bit until he stands up to hold him better in his arms. He peeks over to Sam who sits with Y/N on the floor and plays with some big Lego blocks. “Mommy.” Steve whines again, breathing at least a bit steadier than seconds before. “I know, sweetie. I miss her, too. But she’s only small. Everything is okay. We’re okay.” He kisses Steve’s temple and rocks him a bit but makes his way over to Sam and Y/N. The man looks up and frowns at Steve before he raises a questioning eyebrow at Bucky. He only shrugs and mouth his words. “He doesn’t understand. Thinks she’s gone.”

It takes a while until Steve is calmer. He eyes Y/N every time Bucky has her on his arms and refuses vehemently to play with her. Bucky is a bit lost, but he tries his best to give both children the attention they want and thinks to himself that he manages pretty well. Steve keeps much to himself, draws and only comes to Bucky for food, to ask a question or for a new diaper. He escapes as quickly as he shows up and won’t even share a glance to Y/N when she’s close, except of wary glares.

Y/N on the other hand is always on a run. She tries to crawl or walk over to Steve but Bucky catches her each time and drags her away from the boy. He knows that Steve is not ready to spend time with her yet, but he hopes that he will in a bit. Y/N is at his side the whole time, babbling about things no one really understands except for a few words like ‘Stebe’ or ‘daddy’. Bucky has barely a free minute. He really needs to pee, but he doesn’t really want to let Y/N alone for the few minutes, and he doesn’t really want to bother Steve with her since he already doesn’t seem to like her very much. “Stevie?” Bucky knocks on the door frame and sets Y/N down in the playroom. Steve turns around with a smile but frowns as he sees the little girl crawling over to him. “Can you watch her for a second?”

“Why?” He whines and pushes Y/N’s hand from his pencils. “Please. I need to go to the toilet.” Bucky throws his puppy eyes at the blonde and only receives a grumble from him. “I’ll be quick.”

And he is. He doesn’t need more than three quick minutes and all but sprints back to Steve to rescue him form Y/N. The sight that greets him is… bad. Steve sits in another corner of the room with tears in his eyes, legs drawn to his chest and arms slung around it. Y/N sits next to his desk with a rumpled sheet of paper and a broken pencil in hand. Bucky look back and forth between the two before he makes his way over to Steve and sits down next to him. “Hey, pal. What’s wrong?” He pulls Steve on his lap as the boy leans onto him. “S-she b-broke it.” He sobs and squeeze closer to Bucky. “Your pencil?” Steve nods and points back at Y/N. “A-and m-my…” He breaks off and sobs again. Bucky rubs soothing circles in his back and kisses his temple. “Your picture, huh? I’m sorry Stevie. I know you worked hard on it.” Steve nods small but stays in Bucky’s embrace. And Bucky lets him. He sits in the corner with Steve in his arms and all over his lap while he watches Y/N who crawls over to the blocks to play with them. She shares some glances at Bucky and giggles now and then when he smiles at her, but he tries to focus on comforting Steve.

After the boy loosens his grip on Bucky he looks over to his picture. He quickly runs over, picks it up and runs back to Bucky. He flops back down on his lap and shows the rumpled sheet to Bucky. “Oh. This looks amazing, Stevie. Who is that?”

“Mommy…” Steve’s voice is silent as Bucky points at a woman. She stands next to some flowers and a small boy which probably is Steve. “And this? That’s not uncle Sam, is he?” Bucky says it with played insult which gets Steve to actually giggle. “Noo, daddy. It’s you. See.” He points at the arm that’s silver and then points at Bucky’s metal hand. He smiles up at Bucky and for a moment his breath is taken aback. Steve literally sparkles. He seems to be really proud and the love that he holds for Bucky shows in his eyes. So, Bucky does the only thing that he can think of and hugs Steve close to his chest, kissing his cheeks and whispers a ‘thank you’ and an ‘I love you’ in his ear. Steve giggles again and pushes Bucky away. “You tickle.”

“Oh. I tickle?” Bucky smirks at Steve and attacks him with his beard, rubbing it all over his cheeks. He squeals and screams and tries to shy away but Bucky has a firm grip on the small blonde. “Noo, daddy. Stop.” Steve laughs and Bucky just smiles. Suddenly he feels two small hands at his ankles, and he looks up. Y/N smiles at him and stretches her arms out. “Too.” Bucky smiles and shares a careful look to Steve. He doesn’t seem to be pleased with it but doesn’t say anything either, so Bucky pulls the little girl in. He plays with them both and tickles them until Y/N is half asleep on him. “Okay. Time for a nap.”

“No, daddy, please.” Bucky eyes the boy and already wants to argue but then thinks better of it. “Okay, listen Stevie. I get Y/N to bed, then we change your diaper and get you into your pj and after that I read two books to you. Okay?” Steve eyes him as if searching for a trap but nods and sprint into the kids’ room. He stops at the door and glares at the crib but says nothing to Bucky. The brunette can still see that he doesn’t like it one bit that Y/N apparently sleeps in his own room, too. Steve waits patiently on his bed while Bucky lies Y/N down. The little girl makes some unpleased sounds but Bucky strokes her cheeks, and she soon stills and is out like a light. He stands back up and makes a pleased sound before he turns to Steve. “Okay, ready?”

* * *

Y/N hears a whimper and rolls onto her side. Something fluffy hit her face, and she giggles a bit before she slings her arms around her elephant. She’s almost back to dreamland as the whimper starts again. She peels her eyes open and looks around. For a second she is confused to where the sound comes from, but then she sees this boy her papa played with in a bed. He seems sad and frightened. She shuffles a bit around to get a better look and waits. Papa comes. He always does. But she waits and the boy whimpers and Bucky doesn’t come. “Papa?” Y/N calls. She knows papa can hear her. But still, the door is closed and doesn’t move. “Papa!” She calls again, this time a bit angry. Normally he would be here. Why does he let the boy cry? She looks over to the blonde and decides to help him herself. Like she did the last time she throws her elephant over the crib and onto the floor before she climbs up on the grid and over it, only to land on her side on the floor. She whimpers shortly but doesn’t cry. Her eyes snap over to the boy who whimpers louder this time and trashes around a bit. She sees a sheep lying on the ground, so she picks her elephant up and walks with it over to the sheep. It’s fluffy, and she smiles before she throws both stuffed animals on the mattress next to the boy. She grunts as the sheep falls back down and pushes it back up on the bed. Then she struggles a bit but manages to climb up on it as well. She looks at the boy for a moment. He seems small but nice. He’s a bit wet and tears fall down his cheeks. She stretches her hand out to carefully pat his cheek like daddy does when he’s around. He’s not at the moment. Papa says he has to work but Y/N does how daddy does it. The boy whimpers again and Y/N frowns. Usually petting helps. But papa cuddles her sometimes. So, she lies down and shuffles around until she can slip under the blanket. She pushes the toys between them, so that they won’t fall off from the bed and wraps her little, chubby arms around the boy. She presses her lips against his face, kissing him right on the chin. Then she closes her eyes. She’s still tired and comforting someone is exhausting. Two arms come around her and suddenly the boy presses really close to her. She giggles for a moment but drifts off soon after.

* * * 

Bucky wakes with a start. He just dreamed about little Y/N and Stevie playing together as it hits him. How can they play when they’re asleep? He sits up straight and rubs his eyes before he scrambles up with a bit of a panic. “Shit!” He stumbles over the newspaper he had read earlier but catches himself before he storms to the kids’ room. He carefully opens the door and peeks inside. His gaze wanders first to the crib and his heart almost stops as he sees no Y/N lying there. “Fu-” He stops short with his swearing as his eyes wander to Steve. He’s still in bed, almost covered from head to toe with his blanket. But Bucky can clearly see that he’s not alone. A little head with bad bed hair sticks out from under the blanket. A smile creeps on his lips. He slips inside with his silent assassin skills and sits on the bed. Before he can do anything, he hears Steve whimper but Y/N seems to cuddle closer, so Steve gets silent again. The smile on Bucky’s lips gets wider, and he pulls the blanket down a bit. Steve has his arms wrapped around the little girl and even his legs are trapping her between them. He almost clings like a monkey to her. Y/N has her arms thrown around his tummy and squishes the stuffed toys between their bodies. It’s a really peaceful picture to look at and Bucky considers going out and pick up his phone to snap a picture. He decides against it, having the pride of being the only one to ever see something like that and settles on stroking through Y/N’s hair. “Daddy?”

“Hey, buddy.” Bucky smiles at Steve and strokes through his hair, too, but he frowns when he notices Steve’s red and puffy eyes. “You okay there?” Steve nods shakily before he looks at Y/N a bit closer. “Mommy?”

“Stevie.” Bucky sighs and places his hand on Steve’s back. “We had it already. Y/N is your mommy. She’s just… small, like you.”

“Mommy comes back? Does she get big again?” Bucky sees Steve’s blue eyes focused on him. For a moment he thinks about lying and telling him that she will and everything will be okay, but he knows damn well that he will feel guilty and that Steve will scold him when he’s big again. “I don’t know, buddy. Mommy is like this for a while now. I’m sure she will get big eventually, but we have to wait.” Steve looks a bit sad and scrambles out of the girls embrace and into Bucky’s arms. “Am I a big brother? Like you?”

“Of course, you are.” Bucky smiles at him and kisses his cheek. Steve smiles and hugs Bucky’s neck. “I love you.” Bucky smiles even wider and by now he feels his face starting to hurt. “I love you, too. I’m so proud of you.” He kisses Steve again just as a big burp sounds through the room. They both part and look over to the little girl that giggles and stretches her arms out for Bucky, all while looking innocent. Bucky shakes his head and picks her up. “I think she’s worse than you, Stevie.”

“Daddy! You burp, not me.” Steve crosses his arms and glares at Bucky which only makes him laugh harder. “Okay, okay. How about we go to the playroom? You two can play and I try to save your picture, hm?” Steve looks a bit reluctant but jumps from his bed. He’s quick to change back to his normal pants and shirt and runs into the playroom. Bucky follows the boy and sets Y/N down on the carpet next to him. They both watch as Y/N takes some big Legos in her hands. She chews on one but holds out the other for Bucky to take. “Thank you.” He smiles at her, takes it and puts it onto another block. Y/N reaches for a blue one and holds it out for Steve to take. And he does. He puts it onto Bucky’s and it quickly forms into a routine. Y/N would hold out a block for Steve to take, and he would put it on the tower he builds. It doesn’t even disturb them when Bucky retreats and start to google how to get a rumpled sheet fixed back.

Now and then he looks back in the room but it stays quiet. The two children almost look like they were always together.


	2. Big brother for two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky needs to drop for a little while.

Bucky nibbles on his right thumb, walking up and down behind a couch and mumbles to himself. Now and then he groans, but he mostly just mumbles and fidgets with his other hand on his shirt or pants. He’s nervous. You don’t need to be a genius to tee that. Sam and Wanda sit on another couch and eye him confused. They asked him several times if he’s okay but Bucky didn’t answer. He didn’t even seem to register them. Steve and Y/N sit on the floor between all the couches. Wanda had moved the coffee table away to give them more room as play field. They both have taken it up to themselves to play with the stuffed she and elephant. Steve even sneaked Bucky’s bear out of the room and into the common area. They make funny noises and giggle when the other does something funny. Steve is totally invested in showing Y/N how the bear can ride on either the elephant or the sheep. She smiles and claps her hands together before she ties it herself. “Buck!” Sam calls suddenly but other than scaring Wanda and getting the kids to look up with confused expression he gets no reaction. He then takes a pillow and throws it at Bucky’s head, hitting him right I the face as he turns around again. “Wah- Hey!”

“I talk to you, Barnes.” Bucky grumbles something but places the pillow down on the couch in front of him. “What?” He looks at Sam with a slight scowl. “What is up with you, man? You’re making me nervous with your nervous walking.” Bucky raises an eyebrow at him but sighs and lets himself fall on the couch, rolling over the backrest. “I don’t know. It’s just…” He trails off and stares blankly at the ceiling. “Just?” Wanda asks and keeps herself from reaching out for his mind. Bucky sighs again and throws an arm over his eyes to shield himself from everything. He knows that Wanda and Sam look at each other with quizzical expressions while he listens to his two kids playing between them. He hears the door and glances briefly at it before he hides again but as soon as his arm is over his eyes, he takes him off again and shoots up into a sitting position. “Nat!” Nat jumps slightly but acts as if she doesn't and only glares at Bucky for a second before she looks at Sam and Wanda. “What's up with him?” She points at the brunette but only receives two pairs of shrugging shoulders. “Nat.” Bucky says again and this time Steve looks up. “Aunt Nat.” He jumps up and runs to her, hugging her legs. Y/N scrambles up with some huffing and waddles over to her too, mirroring Steve on the other lag. The spy laughs and picks them both up with no real struggle before she sits on the couch next to Bucky. “What do you want Barnes?”

“I need a favor. A big one.” Bucky watches as Nat squints her eyes at him with a slightly weary expression. “I’m listening.”

“Okay. How do I explain this? You know that Steve and I can somewhat control our droppings, right?”

“Yes.” She says it flatly as she starts to tickle Y/N’s tummy. “Okay. But sometimes we need to give in to the dropping even if we don’t want to. Mostly when we’re stressed.”

“I know. Can you just say what you want from me?”

“Okay, okay.” Bucky shuffles nervously on his seat, looking at his hands. “I know I’m not stressed. Not really. But there is this itch and it feels like I need to drop. I don’t want to until Stevie is big but this is just… It feels like a need. Like I can't hold it up any longer.”

“You need to drop?” Wanda asks and eyes him as Steve comes over to her to snuggle up to her. “Yes?” Bucky forms it as a question. Not really knowing if this is what makes him feel better, what the feeling is actually trying to tell him. He never had this itch without being stressed. “And you want me to look after you all.”

“Yeah.” Bucky nods at Nat's statement. His answer is a bit quieter than normal, and he fidgets with his fingers in his lap, keeping his gaze down to not meet any or the face that probably are facing him. “I don't know. We could be called to a mission any moment. And I'm not sure I’m a good choice for this.”

“I know but I saw you with Clint's kids and you’re great with them. I promise it won't be long. Four hours minimum a day at max. Please Nat. I don’t want to drop while sleeping and leaving us all without being watched. You know me and Steve well enough.” Bucky begs. He ever does. Not since Y/N had dropped and even before that he only did it with Y/N, and he was mostly a kid then. “Okay. Fine. A day max. You own me big one.”

“I know. Thank you.” Bucky kisses her cheek before he practically runs out of the room. Nat stays on the couch with Y/N in her lap and looks to Sam and Wanda. “That unusual.”

“That’s so not him.” Sam looks to Wanda but she shakes her head. “I’m not digging around in his head. He has the right to keep some secrets.”

On the way to the apartment Bucky thinks about his request. He knows it was awkward as fuck and that he probably confused the hell out of his teammates. But this is something new. He loves Steve and Y/N. But it was a while since he was able to drop and since he did it quite often when Y/N was big he kind of misses it now. He walks into the kids’ room and picks out some clothes before he walks back to his room. He looks at his bed but shakes his head before he heads over to Y/N’s room. He lies down on her bed and briefs in her familiar scent. He lets the scary tingly feeling wash over him and give himself in to the strange sensation of dropping. It takes only a few minutes. When he opens his eyes again, he notices immediately that he’s in his mommy’s room. And that he’s naked. The clothes that he picked out earlier lie beside him, so he puts them on and walks out of the room. “Mommy?” He listens but everything is silent. “Daddy?” He calls again but there again is no sound. “Stevie? Mommy!” He gets a bit frustrated and fear creeps up in his gut. “Mommy!” He runs around and looks in every room until there is no room left. A sob wracks through his body. “Mommy?”

“Y/N is currently not able to get you. But Wanda is on her way to get you.” FRIDAY answers with a kind and soft voice. Bucky nods at the ceiling before he sits down on the couch, drawing his legs up to his chest and rocking himself a bit until the door opens. “Buck?” Wanda calls his name and steps into the living room. “Here you are. You okay?” She crouches down in front of him and places her hands on each side of his hips. Bucky nods shakily and leans forward to wrap his arms around Wanda’s neck. She wraps her own around him but stays crouched in front of the couch. “Where’s mommy?”

“Oh.” Wanda swallows the lump in the throat down before she leans back a bit to look at the little boy. “There is something strange with your mommy. Your mommy is not big like you know her, she’s small now, even younger than you.”

“Mommy is small?” Bucky looks at her in confusion but Wanda nods. “Yes. Mommy needed some blood because she got hurt and your daddy gave her some of his. Uncle Bruce helped with that. But you know you and Steve have something that lets you drop, right?” Bucky nods and it’s almost like the time Bucky explained everything to Steve. “Your mommy has it too now and because of that she dropped.”

“So, mommy is not here?”

“Kind of. Your mommy is here. She’s just not mommy now but… your sister. Yours and Stevie’s little sister.” Bucky frowns at Wanda and says nothing. She looks at him for a few seconds before she smiles at him. “Do you want to meet her?” Bucky thinks for a moment. “Does she remember me?” “I- I don’t know. Probably not. I’m sorry, Bucky.” Bucky hums and looks kind of sad, but then he looks up at Wanda and smiles. “I want to see her.” Wanda smiles at him, takes his hand and walks back to the common room with him. Bucky can’t even look around because Sam grabs him and spins him around. He squeals in hysterical laughter. The spinning gets slower and slower until he’s only in Sam arms. Bucky looks around and soon finds his little brother on the ground with a little girl beside him. “Is that mommy?” he points at the girl and Sam turns to look at the two ids too. “Yeah.”

“She’s so small.” Bucky frowns and eyes her closely. “She comes back, right?” Sam looks serious at Bucky and sighs. “I don’t know, buddy. I hope so.”

“And Stevie?”

“Steve is definitely coming back.” But Bucky shakes his head. “Is Stevie okay?” Sam looks confused at him. “Eh, yeah, mostly. He’s confused.” Bucky nods and looks back over to Steve. “And you?” Sam raises an eyebrow and looks at Bucky. The boy turns his head to him and frowns. He doesn't look really happy, but he doesn't look really upset either. “I’m good. Can I go?” Sam nods and lets him down. Bucky doesn't run up to Steve like he usually does but goes to Nat first. He gives her big hug and a kiss, and she laughs. Just after that he walk over to Steve and hugs him from behind, lifting him up and spinning him around. Steve laughs and holds on tight to Bucky’s arms. “Buck!” Steve smiles after he’s safely on the ground and falls his brother around the arms. The brunette smiles and lets himself be dragged from Steve who pulls him over to Y/N. “That is mommy. But now she our sister.” Steve says proudly as if he hadn’t struggled with it beforehand. Bucky nods because he already knows and looks at the little girl. Y/N squeals and holds out her arms for him to get a hug too. And Bucky gives her a bear hug before he settles down and looks at Steve with bright eyes. They all fall back into their play rather quickly.

Nat sits still on the couch and watches them closely. Wanda and Sam say their goodbyes, having still some stuff to do and leave Nat alone with the three kids. She watches as they play with the stuffed animals, how Bucky walks around with Y/N and shows her things and make her giggle. But mostly she watches Steve. He doesn’t look happy anymore. He has a scowl on his face and lightly glares. He doesn’t even walk with Bucky and Y/N but sits on the ground, his sheep tightly wrapped in his arms. At some point, when Bucky helps her to dink some juice, Steve stands up and walks to sit beside Nat. He leans in on her shoulder, holds the sheep and sucks on his thumb. Nat wraps her arm around him and strokes his arm up and down. “You okay?” Steve hums but has his eyes still on Bucky who takes some blankets and pillows from the couches. “Steve. Come on.”

“Don’t like it.”

“What do you not like?”

“Buck.”

“You don’t like Bucky?”

“Stevie! Come. We build a fort!” Bucky calls with a bright smile but the smaller boy hides his face in Nat’s side. He doesn’t see Bucky’s frown. But Nat does. She feels herself sigh and keeps on stroking over Steve’s arm. Bucky tries it some more times over the next two Hours. “Stevie, we build a wall. Help me!”, “Steve, do you want to help with making juice?”, “Come we eat lunch.”, “Do you want to have a bed, too?” Everything gets unheard by Steve. He only lies on the couch and sucks on his thumb until Nat shoves a pacifier in his mouth.

Bucky looks at him, too and frowns. He wants to try to get Steve to play with them a last time. He doesn’t even come to open his mouth. Steve sees him coming, stands up and shoves him away to walk over to the bookshelf and gets a book that he holds out for Nat to read. She frowns at Bucky and Bucky looks sad at Steve before he trudges back to Y/N who sits patiently next to the pillow fort that Bucky had built. Bucky sits there and listens to Y/N’s babbles but doesn't really concentrates on her. He only has eyes for Steve who nestles closer to Nat and listens to the story she reads. Just as Steve is about to fall asleep, he stands up and walks over to his aunt. “Why is Steve not playing with me?” Natasha looks at Steve and then over to Bucky. She pats the space beside her and shares a small look over to Y/N who lies on the floor. Mostly asleep, too. “You know, Stevie was a big brother for a whole day. He liked it very much. I think it’s strange for him that you care for Y/N, too and not only for him.”

“Doesn't he like me anymore?”

“No. I think he likes you very much and because of that he’s confused why you care for Y/N and not for him. He only knows that you do everything for him and thinks that it is his duty to care for Y/N.”

“But that’s not true.”

“No, it isn’t. But Steve doesn't know that.” Bucky frowns again and look over to Steve. He runs his head through Steve’s hair and actually gets him to hum in his half-asleep state. “Aunt Nat? Can we have some snacks?”

“Snack? It’s almost naptime, Bucky.”

“Please?”

“What do you have planned?”

“Aunt Naat.” Bucky whines and bounces a bit on his seat. “Yeah, okay. I’ll look for some.” Bucky smiles and jumps down from the couch and runs over to the bookshelf. HE picks a few picture books and shoves them into the big fort. Then he picks Y/N up and places her on some pillows, right in the middle of it. Just then he runs over to Steve. “Stevie!” Steve opens his eyes to little slits and grumbles but Bucky has already grabbed his hands. He pulls on them and pulls Bucky over to the stuffed animals, shoves them into the blonde’s arms and shoves him over to the fort and pushes him inside. “Buck, stop! I don’t want your dumb pillow fort.” Bucky halters shortly but then ignores Steve and pushes him further inside. He climbs back out himself again and runs over to grab Tony’s fluffy blanket form his armchair and runs back to the fort. He quickly covers Y/N with it and pushes Steve as close to her as he can and covers him with the blanket too. Then he peeks outside of his fort and watches Nat come closer with a small bowl full of some cookies. He quickly takes it and shoves it into a corner of the fort. “Hey, stop. Bucky, can I come in, too?”

“NO! Only for kids!” Nat laughs and strolls back over to the couch where she sits down and waves at Tony and Bruce who come in. They whisper silently but Bucky ignores them. He only hears Tony grumble about his blanket but hears him laugh after Nat explains the situation.

Bucky crawls over to Steve and cuddles up to his back. “Buck, go away.”

“No.” Bucky says and pushes even closer to Steve. The blonde boy squirms a bit but stills after Bucky tightens his hug and covers himself. “I love you Stevie.” He kisses the blonde boy on the cheek and closes his eyes. Steve grumbles a bit but then tightens his own arms around Y/N and grabs one of Bucky’s hand. “Love you, too.”

It doesn't take more than a few minutes for them to fall asleep. They don’t even register Tony who peeks inside with a smile and silently crawls in to lie behind Bucky, his arm thrown over all three of them.


End file.
